The time away from the team was minimal. The value of the experience? Priceless.

His family having witnessed his ascension from undrafted prospect to three-time NBA champion, Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem stepped away from his role as team captain to return to doting dad, witnessing his son winning Florida's Class 7A state football championship Friday in Orlando.

With Haslem having sacrificed salary numerous times over his 14-year career with the Heat, the team made the sacrifice of allowing their team captain to step away from the team's shorthanded roster and bypass Friday night's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

So after participating in Friday morning's shootaround in Cleveland, Haslem headed to Orlando in time to see Kedonis Haslem, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman at St. Thomas Aquinas, win a second consecutive state championship.

"I built up the courage to ask permission, and it worked out," he said Saturday. "My son's final game, I'm glad I could be there for something like that."

The Raiders made Haslem's trip a rewarding one, with a 45-6 victory over Tampa-Plant,

Heat fall to 0-2 on trip that ends Saturday in Chicago.

"He's missed all of his son's important playoff games and championship games, senior year," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "U.D. has been in 13 years of service with us and you miss so many moments that we felt that this would be a moment that he wasn't going to miss and regret years from now."

With the Heat either scheduled with games or on the road during recent Fridays, Haslem, 36, had missed his son's progression through the playoffs. He had been working on contingencies to have scores relayed to him at Friday night's game.

Instead, there was a whirlwind to get the Southwest Ranches resident back with the team in time for Saturday night's game against Dwyane Wade and the Chicago Bulls at the United Center, after having missed Friday's reunion with former Heat teammate LeBron James.

"It was huge for my son to not only win the state championship, but for me to be there and be a part of it and watch his last high school game," Haslem said Saturday during pregame warmups. "We sacrifice so much, so it was a great opportunity just to be there for him. I missed his senior night. I missed the state championship last year. So for his last time in a high school game at St. Thomas Aquinas High School I was able to be there for him."

Friday was Haslem's lone absence from the team this season, although he had appeared in only one of the five previous games, now in more of a mentorship role.

Having players away from the team has practically become the norm for the Heat, with Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Luke Babbitt all remaining behind in South Florida during the three-game trip to rehabilitate injuries, and with Chris Bosh away from the team since failing his preseason physical.

Haslem said the injuries are what made the decision to leave harder for himself than the team.

"I've always been the ultimate team player and the team has always been my priority, staying focused and helping this team win, doing whatever I need to do to put us in a position to win," he said. "So, it was just a struggle I had to have with myself.

Haslem said he is indebted to the franchise for the allowance.

"I mean it means a lot," he said. "I've had a lot of success with this franchise. We have a great relationship. We're very open with one another. So more of the struggle just came from me struggling with myself. I'm pretty such it was an easy decision for those guys."

Football long has been a passion for the Heat captain, particularly his affinity for his hometown Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes, an allegiance that transcends even his connection with his alma mater, the University of Florida. Kedonis, a senior, has received interest from Florida International, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina and Temple, among other schools.

"His son is a heck of a football player," Spoelstra said. "He's going to have a college career ahead of him. It was a blowout game, so it was great that they won the championship and that he was able to be there."

iwinderman@sunsentinel.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.winderman